Replacing your flooring can alter the entire look and feel of any home or room. It can be a softer, subtle change that refreshes the room’s look, or it can transform the room’s appearance dramatically, giving it a complete face lift.
If you are considering installing new flooring this spring, there is an array of options to consider: the area in which it will be installed, the style of flooring you desire, the cost of the materials, and cost of installation. Taking all of these considerations into account, you might find yourself wondering where to begin. The experts at Mid-Cape Home Centers are here to help.
Mid-Cape offers a variety of flooring styles and colors, each with its own benefits and aesthetic beauty, and the knowledge to guide you along the process. If you want to know what’s new and trendy in the world of flooring, or if you want to know more about traditional flooring, the experts at Mid Cape are ready to answer your questions.
The top trends that flooring specialists are seeing for 2019 include laminate flooring, hardwoods and luxury vinyl tile. Laminate is multi-layer synthetic flooring, designed to imitate the appearance of real wood.
“In my personal experience, and additionally in articles in Trade journals, I am seeing, and getting inquiries about the new and beautiful luxury vinyl plank flooring,” said Holly Moore, Flooring Specialist at Mid-Cape Home Center. “We show both Shaw Coretec and Armstrong Pryzm and sell it regularly. It is perfect for our area because it is a vinyl (waterproof) floor with the cork pad attached for sound transmission, and it is installed by locking the planks together for a ‘floating’ floor installation.” This, she added, makes the quality of the subfloor less of an issue in an older home.
“Luxury vinyl tile is great for kitchens and baths, due to its moisture resistance,” said Ronda Ciocca, Flooring Product Manager/Buyer for Mid-Cape Home Centers. “The color trends up until now continue to be light grays, or something with a pre-finished dark wood stain against light walls. This really makes a room pop.” Ciocca added that today’s homeowners are much more knowledgeable about home décor, thanks to social media outlets like Pinterest.
“In many cases, (the clients) already know what they want, or at least have good ideas.” She said a lot of the design or product decisions are out of the builders’ hands now, as customers are doing their own research on how they want their kitchen or dining room to look. “The decision is really homeowner-driven,” Ciocca said. “It’s now a matter of builders being educated on the price line for the products their clients want.”
Hardwood has been, and continues to be, a frontrunner when it comes to home flooring. Its classic beauty, durability and lifespan have made it a go-to choice in flooring for generations. The benefits of solid prefinished hardwood include relatively easy installation, a variety of stains and finishes, popular width options and the traditional look of random-length boards.
Luxury vinyl is durable, waterproof flooring that has the look of hardwood or stone without the hefty price tag. It can look like stone or ceramic tile, complete with beautiful natural colors and surface texture that feels like the real thing. Some styles are even made to be installed with grout. And, like wood, luxury vinyl planks may be installed in non-traditional ways, such as in parquet style, diagonally, etc.
“It’s waterproof, which makes it a great product for any area of the home,” said Mid-Cape Flooring Specialist Mark Dolata. “You can buy it in 6-foot boards, if you like, for that plank look. It has a cork pad and the boards just click together.” This provides ease of installation, he said, for either the homeowner or the builder.
Other great choices in flooring include versatile linoleum, eco-friendly bamboo, carpeting and porcelain – each with its own unique beauty and quality.
“Porcelain floor and wall tile is as it has always been – extremely popular,” Moore said. “One time cost-prohibitive, many of the tile manufacturers are sourcing materials here in the United States, giving it a dual appreciation. U. S.-made and affordable with all of the quality of porcelain tile, it can mimic natural stone, but does not have the maintenance issues of staining and sealing that stone has.”
Ultimately, the changes in the flooring industry address the beauty of all items without the maintenance issues, according to Moore. “This is hugely appealing to our seasonal and year-round clientele who have, for so many years, been slaves to their beautiful homes. They can now enjoy their families and don’t have those plastic covers on everything like my grandmother did!”
Anything can be found today, especially online, Ciocca said. “Anyone can go online and find what they want. It’s our job to provide the service and education behind that. With our flooring specialists, we have a combined 30-plus years of experience behind us, and understand not only the old, traditional hardwoods, but all the new products that are coming out, as well.”
The Mid-Cape Experience, the ‘Experience that Builds,’ is what Mid-Cape consistently strives to create for their customers. After nearly 125 years in business, and an ever-brightening future ahead of them, Mid-Cape is a permanent fixture here on the Cape, with knowledgeable team members who are very glad to assist you in your next project. To learn more about Mid-Cape’s flooring design team, or to see all that Mid-Cape has to offer for all your building and remodeling needs, visit www.midcape.net.
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